New children’s book merges western science and Aboriginal knowledge on Broome’s dinosaur tracks

Dinosaur tracks on the Dampier Peninsula have previously sparked debate between traditional owners and scientists, but a new children’s book, Tracking Dinosaurs, commissioned by Dinosaur Coast, showcases how collaboration between Aboriginal knowledge and palaeontology is deepening understanding. Broome’s dinosaur footprints at Gantheaume Point, a major drawcard for thousands of tourists each year, are believed to have been made 130 million years ago by carnivorous theropod dinosaurs, according to palaeontologist Associate Professor Steve Salisbury. His research into the tracks has identified 21 different species of theropods that once roamed the Dampier Peninsula — a discovery he describes as “the highest concentration of dinosaur tracks anywhere in the world”. However, the landscape these theropods roamed on bears little resemblance to the sweeping neon orange sand dunes and glittering coastline of today’s Broome. “Back then Australia was still part of East Gondwana (the ancient supercontinent that incorporated South America, Africa, Arabia, Australia and Antarctica),” Associate Professor Salisbury said. “India would have been almost visible looking out at the horizon from Broome.” Mr Salisbury was permitted access to study the dinosaur tracks, which are imprinted on Goolarabooloo land, by the community about 15 years ago. The partnership with the Dinosaur Coast National Heritage Management Plan birthed a new era in Australian palaeontology which conflated Aboriginal cultural knowledge and Western science. “The dinosaur tracks have the highest level of cultural significance because they are woven into the Dreamtime of that area,” Associate Professor Sailsbury said. Goolarabooloo Community leader Daniel Roe, who has partnered with Associate Professor Salisbury in his research, as well as providing cultural consultation for the children’s book, expanded on the tracks’ Aboriginal meaning. “For many thousands of years, Aboriginal people of the Derby Peninsula and West Kimberley have had strong cultural connections with the dinosaur tracks,” he said. “Certain dinosaur tracks are linked to the creator, Marala, the Emu man.” “Song cycles trace the parts of ancestral beings, so being as they journeyed across the country, singing the land into existence.” He said this modern partnership of Western science and Aboriginal cultural knowledge in the DCNHMP would generate positive outcomes for land management if it was absorbed into the Federal Government Heritage Protection System. “It’s very significant because if it is successful, it will set the precedents for other national management plans to protect national heritage land around Australia,” Mr Roe said. “If the management plan gets adopted into the house, it will be a way to close the gap, reconciliation, all these things they talk about in Parliament,” he said. The characters in Tracking Dinosaurs include Kai, a non-Aboriginal young boy with a passion for dinosaurs, and Jani, a young Aboriginal girl from Broome with cultural knowledge of the tracks. It is, to an extent, emblematic of Mr Roe and Associate Professor Salisbury’s relationship. Author of the book Debra Hannigan said Dinosaur Coast was passionate about “portraying the equal valuing of Aboriginal and scientific knowledge through the story and characters”. She credited the pictures by illustrator Jade De Baecque for bringing her words to life. Children of all ages are invited to the Tracking Dinosaurs book launch at Broome Public Library on Tuesday November 26 at 5.15pm.